Dobber Hockey

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Two weeks left in the season and head-to-head leagues are knee deep in playoff matchups. Now is the time to make some hard decisions. To make decisions that feel wrong, but are actually right. Like the decision the Leafs made in late December to start losing every game.

Some pretty big stars are sidelined with injury right now and fantasy owners are handcuffed because these guys are undroppable. But are they really? If they're hogging a roster spot and you're only keeping them because "maybe" they'll be back in a couple of games, reconsider your stance. Let's take a look at a few.

Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings - The dreaded day-to-day tag is back and it's attached to the veteran Swede. In this case we can be fairly comfortable that Kronwall is returning, given that he missed the last game as a precaution. Hang onto him.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Every fantasy owner's ears perk up when a player that he or she owns is traded. So naturally the NHL's trade deadline day brings a lot of excitement to the fantasy world, more so than the real hockey world. Where else are you going to find people who get worked up over a Brett Connolly deal?

More than any year that I can remember, the trade action wasn't limited to just the one day. There was plenty of action in the days leading up to March 2. Before I get to the traded players who underwent the biggest fantasy value change, here are five players who see little or no change despite the new address.

Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers - Jagr was on pace to finish with 41 points with the Devils and he's still going to finish with 41 points despite the trade. His ice time is the same - and so is his age. He's still 42 years old, his production is slowing, and after the initial post-trade adrenalin rush wears off he'll slow again.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

The trade deadline offers double the fun for fantasy owners. And I'm not referring to watching the talking heads on TV analyze the trade of a fourth liner all morning on Monday before allocating five minutes on each trade when things actually start moving after lunch. No, if you're a fantasy owner then not only do you get the (post-lunch) excitement of some players that we own being moved to a new environment, but you also feel the rush of trade deadlines in our fantasy leagues.

And while you'll get no argument from me that the events are fun, is the end result really any different? Take last year's crop of players who were moved…

These fellas are wielding a hot stick. Take that into consideration when you go after them in trade talks...

Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings (6-4-5-9, plus-3, 7 Hits, 27 SOG, 1 PPPts) - Carter was mired in a horrible slump back in November/December that saw him tally just eight points in 23 contests. Otherwise he's had 36 in 35 on the campaign.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

In a week and a half we have the NHL trade deadline, which is often pretty close to the trade deadline in a lot of fantasy leagues. Two weeks after that - a lot of head-to-head leagues have their playoffs. I took a look at a report (via FantasyHockeyGeek.com) that gave me the top performing skaters (categories: G, A, +/-, SOG, PPPts, HITS) through Jan. 1. The results are surprising. Then again, the Maple Leafs were 13th in the NHL with 45 points in 38 games and look at them now. Can anything really surprise us after that?

Nick Foligno at 23 is also a shocker, when you consider that many figured on January 1 he was overachieving and a slowdown was imminent. Apparently not. But the biggest shocker of all isn't a name that is on this list, but rather a name that is not. Sidney Crosby is nowhere to be found. In fact, you have to scan the list all the way down to No.64 before you find No.87. Crosby has just 34 points in his last 40 games.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Just a month away from the NHL Trade Deadline and just six weeks away from fantasy hockey playoffs in a lot of head-to-head leagues. Those who are still hanging around the top of their leagues have had tremendous luck with consistency. It helps to know that you can keep a player active week after week without having to worry about his four-game pointless streak and whether or not to sit him. Unless said player is consistently putting up zeroes (such as, say, any Maple Leaf), in which case you keep him on the bench or drop him altogether.

I ran a report over at Frozen Pool the gives the most consistent players in the NHL this year, with consistency being measured by the percentage of games with at least a point.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

It's at this point in the season where, if you're competing for first, you should start scouring the waiver-wire for underperforming players who are on expiring contracts. Fantasy owners aren't exactly known for their patience, and they often drop players in December or January who could turn out to be hidden gems - if they're on a different team.

Last season in late January, someone in one of my leagues dropped Ales Hemsky. Yes, Hemsky was doing terrible in Edmonton. But it was no secret that he was being shopped and would almost certainly be traded. I picked him up and he sat on my bench for three weeks. Then he was dealt to Ottawa. I could afford to keep such a player on my bench for a couple of weeks and it paid huge dividends because, as you know, he was very productive playing with Jason Spezza down the stretch. We'll end Hemsky's story there, rather than drag it into the Dallas era…

Some things to look for:

• Contract is expiring. And he'll become an unrestricted free agent, rather than restricted.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

By this point you've heard all the jokes about the Toronto Maple Leafs and their inability to score - the goal judge/Maytag repairman comparable; the red light bulb company going bankrupt for lack of sales; etc., etc. But the team is actually still sixth in the league in goals scored. Of course, that was pretty much entirely during the Randy Carlyle era, but let's not go there. Heading into the All-Star break, the Leafs still hold the top spot for most productive line combo by a pretty wide margin. While that does speak to the chemistry of Tyler Bozak/Phil Kessel/James van Riemsdyk, it also speaks to a certain stubbornness. As in - the refusal to mix up the scoring lines. Why mess around with what's working, right?

Except…it's not working.

Coming out of the break, it won't be just fantasy owners making some adjustments for the stretch run. We'll see if any of these top line combos get broken up.

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Happy New Year!

How nuts are poolies for their fantasy hockey team? Well, my fantasy hockey forum ceased activity at approximately quarter to midnight New Year's Eve (EST)…and then poolies got right back at it at around five after - discussing the merits of Jarome Iginla vs. Johan Franzen going forward. (For the record, I prefer Franzen in leagues with a flexible IR - but Iginla if transactions and/or IR spots are limited) …

I found this report interesting. Frozen Pool lists the Top 50 players who draw penalties. It just gives another perspective on these players, showing a little something else that they bring to the table besides the usual stats.

These fellas are wielding a hot stick. Take that into consideration when you go after them in trade talks...

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Here are the top 25 performing players between November 9 and December 2 (in the given categories). The report is courtesy of our pals over at FantasyHockeyGeek.com:

• Alex Ovechkin owners may be frustrated with the numbers as of late, but the bottom line is that he's still been providing value thanks to his shots and hits total. That's exactly why he was the top player to draft back in September in this type of league - because even during his slumps, he's providing value.

• Everyone's still waiting for Tyler "not a first-line center" Bozak to stop being so first-line centery.

• The top goalie during the window given is Jaroslav Halak, who ranked 49th. Corey Crawford (62), Pekka Rinne (64), Kari Lehtonen (72) and Ben Bishop (97) also cracked the top 100.

• Islanders youngster Ryan Strome has been sneaky-good of late. He actually ranked 28th, just missing the list. But he has 10 points in his last 11 games and is shooting the puck a ton.